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A group of teenagers plays basketball outside. Kids participate in various team-building games. Young adults of all ages sit around a table for a meal, talking and laughing. But notice anything missing? None has a cellphone or web-connected device.

That's what the Japanese government hopes its Internet fasting camps will look like in 2014.

The Japanese Ministry of Education is devising ways to fight Internet addiction in adolescents. The ministry plans to open Internet fasting camps in the coming fiscal year to help students learn to live away from their laptops and cellphones.

"We estimate this affects around 518,000 children at middle and high schools across Japan, but that figure is rising and there could be far more cases, because we don't know about them all," Akifumi Sekine, a representative of the ministry, told The Daily Telegraph in August.

The statistic is based on a Nihon University study released in August, which concluded 8.1% of 100,000 Japanese school children surveyed were addicted to the Internet.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition defines one facet of the condition: Internet Gaming Disorder. But further research is needed to determine whether Internet addiction is a mental health condition or just a symptom of other underlying issues. Mark Griffiths, Ph.D., says it presents typical symptoms of addiction, including a "buzz" from being online, and allowing online activities to interfere offline activities at work or school. In some cases, the addiction can cause sleep issues, such waking up in the middle of the night.

"I feel [they] have conflicting interests that comes from the tension between traditional cultural values and the rise of individualism in Japanese society,” Japanese international economic student Kaz Aoyama tells Mashable, “They want to attain fame, but they want to keep their online persona separate from their real-life selves. They're taught not to stand out too much, but they have this desire to do exactly that.”

Japan's relationship to the Internet is a complex one. The country is one of the world's most prominent tech hubs and fosters a booming mobile culture. The majority of Japanese teens and young adults with cellphones use them to access the web. They are active on Twitter and use their devices for communication and mobile gaming.

Still, some Japanese netizens have reservations about an online presence, unlike other Western countries, which encourage gregarious web personas. In Japan, “otherness” is often discouraged, so many try their best not to stand out on social media platforms. Some will even avoid using their real names or photos in any of their social media profiles. Amateur Japanese dancers, musicians or singers on YouTube might obscure their faces or wear masks to protect their identities.

This doesn't keep Japanese people from using the web — far from it. Some Japanese netizens who participate in online gaming spend tens of thousands of yen on gaming subscriptions, totaling over $5.1 billion on mobile gaming alone in 2012. They spend time on websites like 2ch and Futaba, image and text boards where people discuss a variety of subjects or personal problems.

No one illustrates this cross-section between Japanese modernity and tradition more effectively than hikikomori (meaning "pulling inward or away"), those who withdraw from society and stay in their rooms for six months or more. Many older teens and young adults become hikikomori after facing failure, for example, losing a job or doing poorly in a presentation. They fall into a cycle of self-blame and introversion, which their parents and loved ones struggle to break. Since they feel they have no one to speak with, hikikomori turn to the web to occupy their time and interact with others with similar interests.

While Japan is addressing the problem, discussing any issue of mental health remains difficult. Hotel employee and Japanese citizen Shuji Kazama tells Mashable, “Talking about these issues [in Japan] can be complicated, because we’re not very open about these subjects."

Kazama has seen first-hand what Internet addiction can do to a person: "When I was in high school in Tokyo, I knew someone who was addicted. He didn't come to class anymore and eventually he was expelled.”

To Internet addiction recover center reSTART cofounder Hilarie Cash, Ph.D., there's no question the addiction is real. She was one of the first in the mental health community to recognize and treat patients with Internet addiction. She consults on international programs, for example, in China, Poland and Spain. She says in the United States there is a tendency to deny Internet addiction is real, something she struggles with every day.

“When out and about in the world, there’s lots of denial. People say, ‘It’s the modern era, get over it,’” Cash says, “Educated people will refer to the initial attitudes towards books. There is truth in these statements, but the reality is there are developmental problems that can occur.”

The Japanese Ministry of Education rehab program will involve outdoor learning centers. Students would be unable to connect to the Internet or have access to any mobile devices. They would be encouraged to interact with fellow students via sports and games. The facilities would staff psychiatrists and clinical psychotherapists in case students need counseling during their stays.

While just taking away cellphones and laptops might not be enough to help these kids, human interaction might. Limbic resonance is the theory that face-to-face interaction gives us satisfaction, so we feel better about ourselves and others.

"Verbal and non-verbal communication releases specific neuro-chemicals," Cash explains, "It's not a reaction that occurs when you're online. A lack of it can even hinder developing social skills."

However, some predict the camps will only tackle the symptoms of a much bigger problem in Japanese society. In Japan, bullying and harassment at school often go beyond name-calling and schoolyard scuffles. In 2011, the Japanese government reported that 38% of schools experience bullying issues, though the actual statistic may be higher. This behavior goes mostly unchecked and has been linked to multiple teenage suicides.

"Why are these young people turning to the internet? Why do they feel more comfortable talking to strangers on the Internet, instead of their classmates or family?" asks Aoyama. "I feel like there are more important issues to tackle for these middle and high schoolers, like bullying at school and on the web. Taking away the Internet won't put an end to it."

There's no way of knowing how effective the camps will be until they are open to students, but simply talking about the issue publicly may help change attitudes around this very real problem.

Japan isn't the only country that will have Internet fasting camps. China has tried a similar program, though it's reportedly more rigorous than the planned for Japan. In the U.S. several Internet addiction programs are aimed at children, teens and adults; The Bradford Regional Medical Center in Pennsylvania offers a rehabilitation program, as does reSTART, a program in Washington. South Korea, where 98% of households had broadband Internet in 2012, also has a comprehensive Internet addiction program. South Korean programs encourage outdoor activity and team-building away from the digital lifestyle, the model which Japan is looking to adopt.

Mashable
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